PEC’s Board of Directors has ratified the first advisory panel comprised of members in Cooperative history. The Board voted to ratify the panel at its Monday, Dec. 14 meeting after the Energy Conservation and Renewable Generation Programs Committee had unanimously confirmed six PEC members at its Dec. 8 meeting. These members will give the committee a fresh and informed perspective, which will help PEC in its ongoing effort to be a responsible steward of the environment.
“This is a groundbreaking event for us at PEC,” said District 7 Director and committee member Dr. Patrick Cox. “It is our organization’s intent to involve more members and to benefit from the knowledge that is out there in our service area. We are pleased to have this new committee focus on our commitment to energy efficiency, conservation and renewables.”
The three Board Directors on the committee each appointed two members. District 2 Director James Williams appointed Charles Hooks and Linda Kaye Rogers. Cox appointed Sue Barnett and Karl Rabago. District 6 Director Larry Landaker, who also is the committee chairman, appointed Bret Raymis and Tom Smith.
“The Board and the staff want to hear from you. You represent the membership, and we’re going to value everything you bring to us,” said Landaker. “I would encourage this committee to challenge us, to make us think about things that we’re not thinking about.”
“I am very impressed by the experience, education and passion that I hear from these nominees for the member advisory committee,” said Williams. “Congratulations and good luck, because we need your help.”
The committee advisory members are:
• Sue Barnett of Round Mountain has worked on several successful conservation programs for Austin Energy. A member of the U.S. Green Building Council, Barnett has spent most of the past decade working with progressive builders and promoting sustainable designs.
• Charles Hooks of Georgetown brings extensive professional expertise in data analysis and civil engineering after a nearly 40-year career with IBM. Hooks gives the panel a member who can assess projects, offer suggestions to improve performance and ensure objectives are met.
• Karl Rabago of Austin joined Austin Energy as the vice president of distributed energy services in 2009. He is responsible for the management and oversight of energy efficiency and conservation programs, and of renewable energy technologies. In the 1990s, Rabago served as a commissioner on the Public Utility Commission of Texas and as a deputy assistant secretary with the U.S. Department of Energy.
• Bret Raymis of Austin is an entrepreneur with an impressive knowledge of solar power technology. “I’m really glad to be a part of this committee,” said Raymis. “I’m pleased to be working with all of you to help move PEC into the 21st century.”
• Linda Kaye Rogers of Wimberley offers strong communication skills, which she recently put to good use at the first Wimberley Eco Fest, an event that promoted green living in the Hill Country. “I am a passionate conservationist,” said Rogers. “I live and breathe it.”
• Tom “Smitty” Smith of Austin is in his 24th year as the Director of Public Citizen’s Texas office. Public Citizen is a national nonprofit organization that advocates for consumer rights and for clean, safe and sustainable energy sources. Smith said PEC’s goals to boost conservation and increase its renewable energy purchases are “probably the most aggressive we’ve found of any electric co-op in the nation, and that’s something we should be very proud of.”
To learn more about the initiatives at Pedernales Electric see http://www.pec.coop/About/Default.aspx